Architecture Glossary

Executive Summary

This glossary defines architecture-specific terms for the Algosure v0.2 Architecture Foundation.

Why This Exists

Architecture language must be consistent before engineering starts. This glossary prevents ambiguity across Blueprint, architecture, engineering, AI, UX, data, and integration work.

Owner

The owner is the Chief Product Officer and Enterprise Architect.

Business Value

Shared terminology improves review quality, reduces rework, and protects architectural consistency.

Terms

Term	Definition
Architecture Foundation	v0.2 layer that defines enterprise technical architecture governance and direction.
Domain First	Architecture principle that Domains are the primary technical organization input.
Bounded Context	Explicit boundary around a Domain language, model, ownership, rules, and contracts.
Spring Boot Modulith	Architectural direction favoring a modular monolith aligned to bounded contexts and strong module boundaries.
Modular Monolith	Single deployable system organized into explicit, enforceable modules.
Microservices Later	Principle that services should be extracted only after boundaries and operational maturity justify it.
Event First	Principle that business events should coordinate cross-boundary reactions without moving ownership.
API First	Principle that interfaces are intentional and governed before implementation.
Contract First	Principle that interfaces, events, and integrations should be defined and versioned as contracts.
Secure by Design	Security is a foundational architecture concern rather than a later add-on.
Zero Trust	Access model requiring explicit verification and least privilege.
Multi-Tenant by Design	Tenant isolation is designed across identity, data, events, AI context, memory, and reporting.
Observability by Default	Architecture supports logs, metrics, traces, audit, and operational health from the start.
Idempotency	Ability to safely retry operations or consume duplicate events without incorrect side effects.
Explainability	Ability to show AI recommendation evidence, reasoning, assumptions, confidence, and approval need.
Auditability	Ability to trace material actions, decisions, approvals, events, and data changes.
Quality Attribute	Non-functional characteristic such as security, performance, reliability, or maintainability.
Architecture Governance	Process for reviewing and controlling architecture decisions.
Architecture Decision Record	Documented record of a significant architecture decision and its rationale.